Blind Go
by Sound of Wings
Summary: It's been two years since Sai's disappearance and Hikaru's still playing the game he loves. So what's an opponent supposed to do against Hikaru during a blindfolded match when Hikaru's perfected the game of blind go?


Disclaimer: I do not own Hikaru no Go and I am not making any profit off of this. This was written just for fun.

**Blind Go**

The spectators were completely quiet as they watched the game between the two players before them unfold. Both male players sat before the go board deep in thought. One was a male with sandy blonde hair who appeared to be in his later thirties. The other male had black hair with bleach blonde bangs who couldn't be older than twenty. While the older man's eyes flickered from one formation of black and white go stones to another. The younger male sat calmly before the board with his eyes closed. Finally the older man selected a black stone from his bowl and placed in on the board.

"G-13," the man said as he placed the stone on the cross-hairs.

"O-6," the younger man said without opening his eyes. The older man picked up a white stone from the second bowl at his side and placed it on the board where he was told. The man cringed once he took a second look at the board.

"L-5," the man tried to counter white's previous attack by cutting through the formation.

"M-12," the younger replied with swiftness and ease. The older man placed the white stone where it was supposed to go. The two men sat in silence for a moment longer before the older man bowed down in defeat.

"I resign." With those words the man began to rearrange the board to count territory. No one bothered to watch the man too closely to make sure he didn't cheat by increasing his own territory and reducing the younger man's. One person had tried before, but had had to confess to moving his pieces to a more favorable position for himself once the young man, a teenager at the time, had rebuilt the game just played move by move right before his eyes. Someone else had checked the territory then and found the numbers different than what they had been told before. No other players had bothered to try something like that again.

"Black – 52, White – 55 ½ including the 3 ½ moku handicap," the man declared after taking a minute or two to count. The spectators around the room murmured in appreciation at the game and crowded in closer as the board was swept clean of go stones.

"Would you like to discuss the game Tenma?" the younger man asked.

"Of course Shindo," Tenma replied as the stones were separated into their respective bowls.

"Then let's start at the twenty-third hand when you played D-7 to try and stop my attack in the corner," Shindo requested as the soft clack of stones hitting wood filled the air. The other players in the room settled themselves on the floor closer to the board so that they could join in on the discussion too.

* * *

An hour passed before people started trickling out of the room. They came out in twos and threes, talking quietly among themselves as they slipped their shoes on before heading for the elevator. Back in the room the few remaining people were cleaning up after the discussion as Amano finished speaking with the two players for a brief interview.

"Tenma and Shindo it was great to hear from both of you. The game was spectacular to watch and the discussion afterwards well thought out. I believe our readers will enjoy this month's issue very much. Thank you for your time." Amano heaved himself to his feet as Tenma also bid farewell to his opponent.

"That was a good game," Tenma said with approval. "I hope we can play again someday." Tenma got up just as another younger man with black hair cut straight just below the ears came walking over.

"Are you ready to go Hikaru?" the young man asked.

"Sure thing Akira," Hikaru replied. "It's getting close to dinner time. Did you want to stop somewhere to eat before you drop me off at my place?" Hikaru raised himself carefully from the floor, grabbing a thin white cane from the floor beside him on his way up.

"Actually my mother has invited you over for dinner if you want to come, and father has asked me to remind you that he is still waiting for that rematch after that last game the two of you played last week," Akira invited as he matched Hikaru's pace as the two of the made their way to the shoe locker. Hikaru swept the cane in a gentle arc along the ground before him as he walked.

"I'm fine with that. Your mom's a good cook. What's she planning on making?" Hikaru and Akira stopped to slip on their shoes before heading for the elevator.

"I think she said she was getting ingredient to have a hot pot since it's so cold out. Plus she remembered you talking about how much you like it the last time we had it when you were over. Think of it as a celebration on your win."

"I guess she didn't have any doubts about the outcome of today's match then. What would she have done if I had lost?" Hikaru asked with a laugh. Akira shrugged.

"She would have still made the hot pot and we could call it a consolation dinner instead." The elevator doors opened and the two young men headed for the main doors. "Oh yeah before I forget, congratulations on entering the Honinbo League. How does it feel to be the first blind player to make it in to the league?"

"Probably the same as it feels for a person who can see," Hikaru replied as he turned left as they finally made it outside the building and went straight for the ramp that he knew was there. Normally he would have tried the steps since he wasn't in that much of a rush and there weren't too many of them, but it had rained earlier and the temperature had dropped after the sun had gone down. Akira followed him down the ramp.

"The only thing I'm worried about is Kuwabara Honinbo. That old man gives me the creeps every time we meet," Hikaru continued as they started down the sidewalk towards the train station.

"He is the current title holder," Akira replied, "and he's got plenty of years of experience over you, but I will agree, he can be a little overbearing some times. Now we'd better hurry or my parents will end up eating everything before we get there."

The two of them picked up the pace a little with Akira keeping a keen eye out for ice patches and helping Hikaru navigate around people once they reached the busier section near the station. "I also want to get there so I have enough time to give your dad a decent game," Hikaru added as Akira swiped both of their train passes at the gates.

"He'll be thrilled to hear that," Akria said as they joined the others waiting for the train at the platform.


End file.
